If I Could Live Next Door for a Day is a collection of short stories with the recurrent theme of taking life for granted. "Climbing the Fence" is a story about a sexually unfulfilled woman who has an unfulfilling affair. In "Chained Melody" a condescending young man learns about life in and out of jail. "An Educated Man" shows the inferiority of one man in the presence of others he considers more important. A deluded school counselor brings a jealous boy and his younger brother together in "Piggie and Pete," while another young man in "The Good Boy" tries to break away from his mother. Finally, a woman learns about herself and the world around her when she wins a large sum of money in "What About Ten-Fold?"

The struggle for survival of an American family revolves around Mitch Wilcox, a relief pitcher for a fictional major league baseball team. Nearing the end of his long career, he must decide whether to retire or to sign a new contract. His dilemma centers on his wife, Nicole, who argues for his retirement; and his only child, Twylight, who has run away from home. The novel traces the final two weeks of a season, during which Mitch's team battles for a pennant and he delays his decision because of events that expose the precarious nature of both his professional and personal identities. During a crucial game, his journey culminates with a choice that directs him toward a new life.

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a novel that focuses upon the severe emotional trauma of a young boy coping with his father's death. For Johnny Freeman, the seemingly innocent setting of a typical American elementary school becomes a dangerous psychological battlefield, his most threatening "enemy" being his teacher, Miss Holloway, a first-year instructor beginning her career with only textbook knowledge and stubborn determination. Johnny Freeman and Miss Holloway clash the first day of school and set into motion a war of minds, wills, and emotions. Neither will relent; each is driven for various complex reasons to dominate the other. Their personalities demand that only one of them will emerge as the winner in this struggle, creating a psychological fight for survival with terrifying and deadly consequences for the loser.

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The question of the appropriateness and effectiveness of students' personal writing is a longstanding one in the academy. In composition studies, the ideological fight over personal and academic writing is most often represented by the oft-studied but rarely changed Bartholomae/Elbow debate. In literary studies, reader-response critics in particular have wrestled with the problems and possibilities of subjective interpretation. Yet despite scholastic interest in issues of personal writing, discussions have remained primarily theoretical and have relied mainly on anecdotal evidence. While small-scale case studies valuably illuminate the processes of an individual student or two, the conversation would be profoundly bolstered by empirical data. How common are personal responses, really? Further, while many believe that any presence of first-person pronouns signals personal, subjective writing, anecdotal cases suggest that there are several categories of personal writing, and that these different types of expressivism produce a range of rhetorical effects. The current study attempts to name and refine these categories--using the distinctions of General claim, Writer-based prose, Personal experience, and Personal claim—to begin to fill in this empirical gap. Is it a mistake to lump all use of personal reference into the category of "personal writing"? Would helping students distinguish between these varying types of personal references inform their stylistic and rhetorical choices? By reviewing a sample of 30 short papers written by college students in a general requirement literature survey course, I will examine how frequently--and in what ways--students reference themselves when responding in writing to a work of literature. / text

Le phénomène de l'alternance codique a été connu et étudié depuis le début du XXe siècle. L'intérêt psycholinguistique à l'alternance codique orale a été suivi par des perspectives socio-pragmatiques dans la seconde moitié du XXe siècle ; puis vers la fin du siècle, l'attention des chercheurs a été attirée sur l'alternance codique écrite. Même si l'alternance codique a été bien étudié depuis, il y a encore quelques lacunes. Par exemple, l'intersection de l'écriture bilingue et la critique génétique présente une source de données naturalistes bilingues écrites qui restent fortement peu étudiées. Cette thèse tente de combler cette lacune en fournissant une analyse qualitative et quantitative des brouillons d'examen des apprenants de langue seconde. L'approche multimodale englobe la perspective visuelle, pragmatique et linguistique. Les résultats montrent que l'alternance codique représente un outil que les élèves utilisent habilement dans leur écriture personnelle académique. Néanmoins, les objectifs de son utilisation diffèrent non seulement entre les individus mais aussi entre les sociétés / communautés. Cela souligne la valeur sociolinguistique de l'écriture personnelle bilingue. Ce travail démontre également l'alternance codique dans l'écriture personnelle comme un type indépendant de l'alternance codique, qui peut prendre une place égale à côté de l'alternance codique orale, écrite et littéraire et qui mérite d'être étudié en tant que tel. / The phenomenon of code-switching has been known and researched since the beginning of the 20th century. The psycholinguistic interest in spoken code-switching was followed by socio-pragmatic perspectives in the second half of the 20th century; then towards the end of the century, researchers' attention was drawn to code-switching in writing. Even though language alternation has been well studied since, there are still some lacunae. For example, the intersection of bilingual writing and genetic criticism presents a source of naturalistic bilingual written data which remains significantly under-studied. The present thesis attempts to fill this gap by providing a qualitative and quantitative analysis of second-language learners' examination drafts. The multimodal approach encompasses the visual, the pragmatic and the linguistic perspectives. The findings show that code-switching represents a tool which students skillfully use in their academic personal writing. However, the purposes of its use differ not only among individuals but also among societies/communities. This emphasizes the sociolinguistic value of bilingual personal writing. This work also recognizes code-switching in personal writing as an independent type of code-switching, which can be placed in line with the oral, written and literary code-switching and which merits to be studied as such.

This dissertation is a rhetorical analysis of the theories and practices surrounding student-centered mentor-teaching. I examine textual representations of the teacher/student relationship as well as theories and practices involved in the discursive formation of teacher/student relationships, examining the intersection (or lack thereof) between the ways we as researchers talk about teacher/student relationship formation and the way(s) such relationships form in the “real world” of the English classroom. This institutional critique of teacher/student relationships draws on the works of ancient rhetorical scholars like Quintillian and Socrates, and on the post-1980 scholarship of Robert Connors, Lad Tobin, bell hooks, Paulo Freire, Parker J. Palmer, Mike Rose, Wendy Bishop, Louise Rosenblatt, Jeffrey Berman, and Peter Elbow. These scholars have all provided helpful models for me as I have framed my own beliefs about the value of expressive writing, the usefulness of writing conferences, the need for teacher vulnerability as a model for students’ expressive writing, the appropriateness of various relational settings beyond the classroom, and the ways grading/responding to student writing can either promote or inhibit a trusting student/teacher bond. While all of these scholars have contributed to my own beliefs and ideas, I am merely identifying and classifying pedagogical movements; rather, I am synthesizing these movements’ theories and practices in order to formulate an overall critique of the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches. I also draw heavily upon the theoretical underpinnings of psychoanalysis, feminism, reader-response criticism, and composition studies to weave together a synthesized working model of mutually beneficial teacher/student relationships as they pertain to the high school and college English classrooms. Ultimately, I suggest my own contributions to the existing scholarship that will call for a mixture of both bolder pedagogical approaches and greater relational caution, depending upon the concept and the student(s) involved. I conclude with suggestions for utilizing teacher research to formulate new theories and practices for mentor-teaching in the English classroom.

In an effort to connect women’s spiritual development to the general call for professors to reconnect significantly with their students, this dissertation argues that expressive writing should remain a staple of the composition curriculum. It suggests that the uses of expressive writing should be expanded and explored by students and professors of composition and that each should become familiar with the link between writing and emotional wellness. In cancer centers, schools of medicine, and pregnancy care centers, writing is being used as a tool of therapy. More than just a technique for helping people cope with the stresses of loss, pain, and abuse, teaching personal writing techniques enables writers to transfer their skill in writing narratives to other forms of writing, including the more traditional academic essay. By presenting interdisciplinary blending of composition and performance studies, the discussion introduces contemporary tools of writing that engage digital environments and digital storytelling techniques already familiar to students. An important highlight of the research, that allowing students to treat personal themes in the writing classroom boosts students’ overall academic performance, is a discussion relevant to professors outside of the English department. Spurred by the public health calls for intervention in the HIV and HPV spread on minority, tribal, and HBCU campuses, the essay also considers the appropriateness of offering the Life-Support Class (a mainstay of Pregnancy Care Centers) in campus clinics. The subject of emotion is treated in the essay in relation to women’s relationships on campus and the evasion and stigmatization of emotion among professors in the academic setting. Further, the essay highlights research which suggests that a fear of feminist retaliation interferes with campus psychologists’ recommendations for the best outcomes for sexual health. This dissertation follows the trend of feminist research methodology by explicitly exposing the author’s hopes and goals, which connect women’s spiritual formation to expressive writing.

Alejandra Pizarnik et Sylvia Plath, poètes prolifiques et figures frôlant le mythe, ont forgé au cours de leurs carrières voix uniques et œuvres riches. Elles se partagent une vaste sensibilité artistique, un goût pour la démesure, ainsi qu’une volonté, celle d’être artiste avant tout, de laisser une marque, une trace. Outre leurs œuvres narratives et poétiques, Plath et Pizarnik sont reconnues pour leurs journaux (The Unabridged Journals, 1950-1962 ; Diarios, 1954-1971). Ces textes sont fréquemment lus comme des journaux intimes, mais gagnent à être approchés autrement : comme une part intégrale de la création. Ils sont un appui à l’œuvre à venir, un lieu de travail du geste et de l’idée, un atelier. Omniprésents depuis la fin du 19e siècle, indissociables de la modernité littéraire, les journaux d’écrivain·es ont aujourd’hui encore un statut instable. Ils restent difficilement classables, empruntent à la fois les réflexes d’une longue tradition spirituelle et philosophique, tout comme des procédés uniques à la pratique écrivaine. Ce mémoire cherche à réfléchir leur rôle dans la création, prenant comme base la tradition des exercices spirituels (définis par Hadot) ou des techniques de soi (théorisées par Foucault), puis développant une réflexion grâce à l’idée d’atelier d’écriture. Telles des artistes visuelles, pour avancer jusqu’à Ariel ou Infierno musical, Plath et Pizarnik s’appuieront sur un atelier, un lieu d’expérimentation, de liberté – constellation de carnets, d’ébauches tapées à la machine, de recueils de notes. Ce lieu de langage réunit deux versants : l’entraînement (très vaste, à la manière de l’askesis antique) et l’ouverture vers la création (progression vers la poiesis, l’idée neuve). L’atelier permet d’œuvrer sur le langage et le soi. Avec toujours en vue la quête de la poésie, née de l’intime puis se dépliant, depuis la chute de la plume jusqu’à l’œuvre entière, multicolore. Dans les mots de Plath : « to invent on the drop of a feather, a whole multicolored bird » . / Alejandra Pizarnik and Sylvia Plath, prolific writers and almost mythical figures, have built throughout their careers a unique voice and a rich body of work. They share a broad artistic sensitivity, a taste for excess, and the need to become an artist above all else, to make their mark, leave a trace. Besides their narrative and poetic production, Plath and Pizarnik are known for their journals (The Unabridged Journals, 1950-1962 ; Diarios, 1954-1971), which are often interpreted as intimate texts, as diaries – but who should be primarily seen as an integral part of their creation process. They are a support, a place to work on craft and ideas, an atelier (workshop and studio). Essential since the end of the 19th century, linked to literary modernity, writers’ diaries are still today hard to categorize. They inherit from a long spiritual and philosophical tradition, as well as create their own unique methods. This thesis aims to understand their role in literary creation, with the help of the tradition of the “spiritual exercises” defined by Hadot and of the “techniques of the self” theorized by Foucault, then expanding further with the idea of atelier. Like visual artists, to progress towards Ariel or Infierno musical, Plath and Pizarnik use their atelier, a space of experiment, of freedom – a collection of notebooks, drafts and typescripts, and notes. This space made of language has two purposes : practice (a vast training, like the askesis of Antiquity) and creation (progression towards poiesis, the new idea). The atelier helps working on language and the self. Always searching for this breach that is poetry, born from an intimate place and then unfolded, from the drop of a feather to a whole, multicolored oeuvre. Or as Plath puts it : “to invent on the drop of a feather, a whole multicolored bird”.

Nous proposons, dans le cadre de cette thèse, de définir une poétique du récit de soi en résistance face à l’expérience de répression nazie, dans un contexte historique élargi. Notre étude couvre une période qui s’étend des premières manifestations antifascistes en France, dès les années trente, avec, en particulier, la création en 1934 du Comité de Vigilance des Intellectuels Antifascistes jusqu’à la fin des années cinquante, marquées par la sortie du film Nuit et Brouillard d’Alain Resnais, en 1956. Afin d’appréhender la notion de récit de soi, nous partons des conclusions que Michel Foucault propose dans son cours au Collège de France en 1982, sur « L’Herméneutique du sujet », et nous considérons donc le récit de soi dans la perspective d’un renouvellement des pratiques du souci de soi. C’est à partir d’une sélection de douze textes, choisis dans un corpus de récits de soi français ou francophones, que nous analysons l’écriture personnelle de la résistance. Notre sélection rassemble des récits de soi choisis pour leur diversité générique - journal, témoignage, poésie, correspondance, livre de raison, essai – ainsi que pour les différentes situations de résistance qu’ils présentent. Il s’agit donc de revisiter l’idée de résistance personnelle perçue comme une attitude de « refusance » telle que Philippe Breton l’a décrite, et de définir, dans le cadre de l’écriture du récit de soi, comment le sujet entre en résistance et dans quelle mesure cette résistance personnelle peut être assimilée à un acte : d’une position foucaldienne de résistance en puissance, émanant de la pratique du souci de soi, le récit de soi devient un acte de résistance face à l’expérience nazie. / Our study analyses the issue of resisting against Nazism through a self-narrative corpus, in a historical context expanding beyond the limitations of the Second World War. It spreads across a period that begins with the creation of the “Comité de Vigilance des Intellectuels Antifascistes » (Committee of Antifascist Intellectual Vigilance) in 1934, until the end of the fifties with the release of the movie Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog) directed by Alain Resnais, in 1956. The fundamental idea of self-narrative is to be understood trough Michel Foucault lecture, at the College de France, in 1982, about “L’Herméneutique du Sujet” (The Hermeneutics of the subject). From this point of view, we can establish a parallel between the resisting self-narrative and the self-care practices that he studied from texts written in the Greek and Latin Antiquity. With a selection of twelve texts chosen among a corpus of french or french-speaking self-narratives, we propose to have a new spin on the personal writing of resistance and to define a poetics of these resistant self-narratives. This group of texts gathers different types: diaries, testimonies, poetry, letters and essays. We think that the idea of personal resistance is to be set out with the attitude of “refusance” from Philippe Breton. Thus, we will try to conjure up a notion of how the subject gets on to resistance through writing, and why this personal resisting can be considered as a deed: from a potential resistance drawn by the self-narrative, as Foucault showed it, the self-narrative turns out, in our historical context, to be a resisting act against Nazi experience.